This is a tribute to my old '89 Ranger. I had to sell it in Kentucky in the summer of 2000, but I still see it running around town when I go there to visit. A true testament to its robustness. Aside from the mods below, the motor has never been altered.
In case you're wondering, my Ranger went from being the stock two-wheel drive '89 Supercab XLT on the top-right to a totally custom Southern-Style Prerunner. And what exactly is that, you say? Well, when I was stationed in Kentucky by the US Army, the focus was mud. You need to be nimble, fast, relatively light, and yet durable enough to take down brush, small trees, and the occasional rice-burning import truck.

I did my damage with a 5-1/2" Pro Comp stage II suspension lift, 2" JT body lift, 33x9.50-15 BFG Mud Terrains wrapped around American Racing chrome nugget wheels, getting power from a Currie-built 9" rear (w/ 4.30:1 gears, a Detroit Locker, and Ford Explorer disc brakes). The pinion got connected to the Borg-Warner 13-50 manual shift transfer case with a custom driveshaft from Dick's Driveshafts. Ahead of that was a 5-speed 4wd trannie with a Centerforce stage II clutch gripping the flywheel on the torquey 2.9L V-6. An electric fan with a thermostat replaced the solid fan and fan clutch, freeing up ponies and making the water pump bearings happy while drawing air through the oversized (Ford Explorer A/C Auto trans application) radiator. The fuel-injected motor breathed through a snorkeled (came in handy - see picture to right. She still ran in 4' of water!) K&N filter, spit fire via a Jacob's Omni Magnum ignition, and then sent the gasses out a set of JBA chrome headers.

Outside, a pair of Smittybuilt tube bumpers (I'll never buy anything less. How many bumpers can support the weight of the vehicle at the corner of the bumper??!!) protected the sheetmetal and made excellent pulling and lifting points. James Duff aluminum rocker panels kept the rocks off the lower sheet metal, while their polyurethane bushings tightened the ride. An aluminum tool box in the bed held the tools and extra battery. A KC lightbar with Hella 550 lights (filled with 100W bulbs) lit the nighttime trail rides with all the extra juice coming out of the Performance Distributors 130Amp alternator and the Optima Yellow-Top battery.

Of course the cab needed some amenities too, so I grabbed some bucket seats out of an '89 Bronco II, added a custom center console, and turned up the tunes in a Kenwood AM/FM with a remote 10-disc Kenwood CD changer. Since good communication is important on the trail and the road, a slightly modified Galaxy DX-55 was installed for trail spotting and "smokey reports." A quick-release for the roof mounted antenna meant I could get a strong signal, but remove it easily for low hanging branches. Additional tools included a Quick Air II compressor, Hi-Lift jack, Kiddie automotive fire extinguisher, entrenching tool, 5-gallon water and fuel jerry cans, and a full sized spare.
**I had purchased and planned to install a Dana 44 solid front axle from a 1965 Bronco, but was forced to sell the truck for financial reasons before I could complete the project.

Danger Ranger II
Danger Ranger III